dress a rabbit with thistle

[thistlesdale]

I think I'm pretty good at dressing rabbits, but I'm open to suggestions if anybody has any tips to share



best place to shoot a rabbit is right there in "the apricot"

they just roll right over & meet God

never more than a little twitch



I don't care where ya live, that's a nice rabbit



hang him by his heels, remove the head & tail (poultry shears work well for this), then cut the hide around each hind leg (the spey blade on a stockman pattern pocket knife is an ideal rabbit skinner), and peel the hide down to the crotch



join your cuts by cutting across the crotch, and continue peeling down to the front paws



cut the front paws off with the hide

I don't care where ya live, that's a nice pelt



zip him right open with that little spey blade, remove his gut & entrails



check the liver for spots (tularemia)
vetpath.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/dscf2871.jpg

it's customary in most continental european countries to leave the liver attached, and they really are pretty tasty



next, using your poultry shears, remove the "keel bone" so you can spread the ribs open



remove heart, lungs, esophagus



open up the pelvis, remove his goodies, and kinda cut out a square little crotch notch, which removes the tail entirely

cut out a square little shoulder notch too, & remove the neck



take him down, neatly sever his back feet, rinse him off real good with cold, clean water, & let him rest in your icebox until rigor mortise comes & goes (3 or 4 days)

heat & serve

[frankyme]

I still haven't tried this, it looks like you need to dress them while they are still warm. I typically get to them at the end of the day after loosing the coin toss. It is amazing how fast this guy dresses a wild cotton tail, WITHOUT A KNIFE!
www.mucc.org/mood/rabbit/index.php

Frank

[mb]

That guy is amazing..I wonder if he "prepped' the rabbit with a few knife cuts, here and there..

[emeraldterriers]

one more to speed things up.... take your fresh cottontail hold it under front legs, both hands on top of rib cage and squeeze... all the entrails will squirt out along the hind leg. i can field dress a rabbit in less than 10 seconds. also helps with cooling the meat down and it cuts down on the weight in the game bag.give it a try it works well.

[thistlesdale]

lay around the shack 'till the mail train come back

[mb]

Hey Thistle, your plating and presentation is just awsome... Eat your heart out, Emeril...

[thistlesdale]

thank you kindly

I make it a point to enjoy the finer things this life has to offer, and them forelegs were definitely 2 of 'em